Feed-water regulator



A. SCHOLZ.

FEED WATER REGULATOE APPLICATION FILED NOV. 5, 1H9.

1,372,199. Patented Mar. 22, 1921.

INVENTOR 1 city UNITED STATES ADOLF SCHOLZ, OF NEW'YORK, N. Y.

FEED-WATER REGULATOR.

specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 22, 1921.

Application filed November 5,1919. Serial No. 335,798.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known thatI, AnoLr SorroLz, a c1t1- zen of the United States, andresident ofthe of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Feedater Regulator, of which the following is speclfication.

Thi invention-relates to automatic feed water regulators, and particularly to the type utilized in connection with low pressure boilers.

The principal object ofmy invention isto provide a simple, inexpensive, conveniently and economically manufaoturable, efficiently operating, and improved feedrwater regulator which may be installed conveniently and economically, and when in operation will not get out of order.

Another object of my invention is to pro vide a feed-water regulator, of the stated type, which while having increased efficiency over regulators used heretofore and greater responsiveness than that possessed by such regulators to changing water-level conditions in the boiler, willin addition thereto be compact, of reduced weight and volume, and possessed of increased strength, durability and general reliability.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

The accompanying drawing shows a general sectional elevation of theautomatic feed-water regulator.

The tank l of the regulator comprisesan uprightly disposed cylinder 2 having a head 3 secured to its upper end and a head 1 secured to the lower end thereof. A pipe 5 secured to the central portion of the lower head 4 passes therethrough and leads, therefrom tothe lower part of the water in the boiler, not shown, andthereby connects the lower part of the hamber in the tank 1 with the water in the boiler. And a, pipe 6 se cured to the ,upperhead 3passes there through and leads therefrom to the upper or steam portion of the boiler. VVaterflfrom the boiler therefore enters the tank 1 and reaches thereina level similar to that in the boiler, and the tank is so located relatively to the level of the boiler thatwhen the water in the boiler is at the proper required level the water-level. in .the tank 1 reaches at about midway between its heads 3, 1. Within the tank 1 is, located a spherical shell 7, which is movable upwardly and downwardly therein and is guided in said movement by means of a sternS that extends into the pipe 5 and is secured to a flange 9 which is in turn secured to said shell. One or more perforated disks 10 are mounted upon the stem 8 with their peripheries fitting against the wall ofthe p1pe5, whereby the stem and the shell 7 joined thereto are guided to slide vertlcally in their movements, the axes of the stem, shell, and the cylinder 2 being in alinement.

Above the upper head 3 is located a valve 11 that comprises a casing 12 having a hub 13, that threads through the central portion of the head and is by this means secured thereto, and a fitting 1 1 that threads into the upper end 15 of the casing. The fitting 1 1 is provided with a passageway or inlet 16, and a feed-water pipe 17 isconnected tothe upper end of the fitting, whereby the feed water coming from the pipe .17 passes through the inlet 16 and enters the chamber 18 in the casing 12, wherefrom it passes out through an outlet 19 that forms part of said casing. Said outlet is joined to a pipe 20 which is in turn connected with the lower part of the water portion of the boiler. A stem 21 is slidably mounted in an opening 22 formed in the lower part of casing 12 and hub 13, from which opening the upper .part of said stem extends into the casing-chamber 18, and its lower part projects into the interior of tank 2, the axes of the stem 21 and the inlet 16 being both in alinement with the axes of thetank, shell 7, and stem 8. The upper extremity of stem 21 is formed in the configuration of a flange 23, upon the top of which is secured a rubber, soft lead, or

other flexible washer .2 1, and a spring 25 is coiled around the stem 21 between its flange 23 and the bottom of chamber 18, whereby said spring normally presses the stem upwardly and tends to cause the flange 23 with the washer2 l to bear againstthe seat 26, formed by the lowermost extremity of the fitting 14, and. to close the passage-way 16. A lever 27 having a plate 28 formedat the extremity thereof which is located near the right-handside of the tank-wall 2, as viewed in the drawing, is fulcrumed at 29 to a hanger 30 depending from the underside of the upper head3 at somedistance to the left of the projecting stem 21.. Swinging of the lever 27 upwardly about its fulcrum causes a canrportion 31 thereof to bear against a cupped depression 82 formed in the extremity of stem 21 and to thereby apply pressure of the flange 23 against the seat 26 in addition to the pressure supplied by the spring 25, while releasing of said lever removes its pressure from the stem 21 and permits the lever to drop to the position shown, whereupon it can fall no farther due to its extremity 32 abutting against a detent 33 formed upon the hanger 30.

The spring 25 is possessed of a pressure which is, to a certain predetermined extent,

lower than that of the water-mains or the doing so the shell bears against the plate 28,

swings the lever 27 upwardly against the stem 21, and in this manner compels the latter to exert pressure against the seat 26 in addition to that supplied by the spring 25, whereby the inlet 26 becomes effectively sealed and the water theretofore fed to the boiler is completely shut off. Should the water-level in the boiler now again drop to any extent, the shell 7 would sink accordingly and consequently. release the lever 27, which would drop downwardly to the same extent and releasing its pressure against the stem 21 would thereby permit the feedwater to thrust the stem 21 downwardly contrary to the pressure of its spring 25, and to pass by its flange 28 and into the boiler for its replenishment. When the shell 7 maintains its pressure against the plate 28 of lever 27 to shut oil the -feed-water,

a plate'34c, forming part of a hanger 35 secured to the head 3, rests against the 0pposite or left hand side of the shell to compensate for the pressure which it exerts against the plate 28 and to thereby equalize the lateral pressure against the shell, which would otherwise tend to produce an undue bending stress in the stem 8 or undue contact of the shell with the left hand wall of the tank 1.

As the pressure of modern water-systems or city mains is far higher than the internal pressure of low-pressure boilers, it has been found necessary heretofore to make the shells or floats, ordinarily utilized in connection with feed-water regulators, of considerable size to overcome the high pressure of the feed-water for proper operation of the valves of such apparatuses, and, as a further consequence, the tank and the rest of the regulator parts had to he made proportionally larger. But in this regulator the spring 25 serves the purpose of overcoming such excessive pressure of the feedwater and the shell 7 is only required to carry or overcome the surplus pressure, or that pressure which is the difference between the spring and feed-water pressures, and therefore the shell 7 being required to carry a comparatively small load for operation of the valve it can be made of minimum diameter, with the tank and other parts similarly reduced in size, which results in a more compact and cheaper apparatus and in various other obvious advantages. It will be evident that the requirement of shell 7 to overcome only surplus pressures results in greater regulative responsiveness of the apparatus to varying water-lever changes in the boiler, since buoyant bodies are naturally more responsive to exerting pressure to overcome lesser loads than they are to overcoming greater loads. The cooperation of lever 27 with the shell 7 further amplifies the pressure against the stem 21, and hence is further conducive toward attaining effective pressure for shutting ell the feedwater, with a shell of minimum diameter and maximum of compactness of the apparatus. It will be also evident that the freedom had by the shell 7 in sinking away from the lever 27, and by the lever in turn dropping away from the stem 21, due to dis connection of these parts, upon loss or diminution of required water-level in the boiler, is conducive toward a maximum of regulative responsiveness of the apparatus. since there are no joints connecting these parts, which joints might tend to stick and thereby become derogatory to the immediate action required of these parts to respond to even the slightest water-level changes in the boiler. It will be noted that the regulator can be very readily assembled, by merely placing the shell 7 in the tank 1 with its stem 8 in the pipe 5, securing the head 23 to said tank, threading the valve 11 upon the head, and making the usual water and steampipe connections. The arrangement by which the axes of stem 21. and the inlet 16 are both in alinement with the axis of the tank, results in the simplest, most diroot, and eliicient operation of the working parts of the regulator, and in the simplest, most economical, and convenient assemblage of the regulator. A drip valve 36 is preferably provided to discharge water from the tank for cleaning purposes and also when trying out the regulator. When the shell? drops to the bottom of the tank when the water is withdrawn from the boiler for repair purposes, the flange 9 protects the wall of the shell against injurious contact with the bottom of the tank.

Variations maybe resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portionsof the im )rovements may be used without others.

l 'laving thus described my invention, I claim v y 1. A feed-water regulator having the combination with a tank, and a vertically movable buoyant body therein, of a valve having a feed-water inlet, a stem for closing said inlet adapted to move toward and away therefrom, a spring having a pressure lower than that of the incoming feed-water pressing said stem toward said inlet, a lever adapted to swing toward and away from said stem, means to limit the movement of said lever when it swings away fromsaid stem, said body adapted to move toward and away from said lever, said body when rising striking saidlever to swing it against said stem and compel the latter to bear against said inlet positively in addition to the pressure exerted thereagainst by said spring, said body when sinking moving away from said lever and causing the latter to move away from said stem andto release the pressure of the stem against said inlet, means to guide said body laterally upon its striking said lever, a pipebelow said body connecting said tank with the water in the boiler, a stem extending downwardly from said body into said pipe and coaeting with said pipe to guide the body vertically, and

said body having means on the underside thereof to protect it when striking the bottom oi said tank.

2. A feed-water regulator having the combination with a tank, and a vertically movable buoyant body therein, of a valve having a feed-water inlet, a stem for closing said inlet adapted to move toward and away therefrom, a spring having pressure lower than that of the incoming feed-water pressing said stem toward said inlet,a lever adapted to swing toward and away from said stem, means to limit the movement of said lever when it swings away from said stem, said body adapted to move toward and away from said lever, said body when rising striking said lever to swing it against said stem and compel the latter to bear against said inlet positively in addition to the pressure exerted thereagainst by said spring, and said body when sinking moving away from said lever and causing the latter to move away from said stem and to release the pressure of the stem against said inlet.

3. A feed-water regulator having the combination with 'a tank, and a vertically movable buoyant body therein, of a valve having a feed-water inlet, a stem for closing said inlet adapted to move toward and away therefrom, a spring having a pressure lower than that of the incoming feed water pressing said stem toward said inlet, a lever adapted to swing toward and away from against said inlet positively in addition to the pressure exerted thereagainst by said spring, said body when sinking moving away from said lever and causing the latter tomove awayi rom said stem and to release the pressure of the stem against said inlet, and means to guide said body laterally upon its striking said lever.

4. A feed-water regulator having the combination with a tank, and a vertically movable buoyant body therein, of a valve havinga feed-water inlet, a stem for closing said inlet adapted to move toward and away therefrom, a spring having a pressure lower than that of the incoming feed water pressing said stem toward said inlet, a lever adapted to swing toward and away from said stem, means to limit the movement of said lever when it swings away from said stem, said body adapted to move toward and away from saidlever, said body when rising striking said lever to swing it against said a stem and compel the latter to bear against said inlet positively in addition to the pressure exerted thereagainst by said spring, said body when sinking moving away from said lever and causing the latter to move away from said stem and to release the pres sure of the stem against said inlet, means to guide said body laterally upon its striking said lever, a pipe below said body connecting said tank with the water in the boiler, and a stem extending downwardly from said body into said pipe and coasting with said pipe to guide the body vertically.

5. A feed-water regulator having the combination with a tank, and a vertically movable buoyant body therein, of a valve having a teed-water inlet, a stem for closing said inlet adapted to move toward and away therefrom, a spring having a pressure lower than that of the incoming feed water pressing said stem toward said inlet, a lever adapted to swing toward and away from said stem, said body adapted to move toward and away from said lever, said body when rising striking said lever to swing it against said stem and compel the latter to bear against said inlet positively in addi tion to the pressure exerted thereagainst by said spring, and said body when sinking moving away from said lever and causing the latter to move away from said stem and to release the pressure 01": the stem against said inlet.

6. A feed-water regulator having the combination with a tank, and a vertically movable buoyant body therein, of a valve having a feed-water inlet, a stem for closing said inlet adapted to move toward and away therefrom, a spring having a pressure lower than that of the incoming feed water pressing said stem toward said inlet, a lever adapted to swing toward and away from said stem, said body striking said lever when moving upwardly and releasing the lever when sinking, and means to guide said body laterally upon its striking said lever.

7 A feed-water regulator having the combination with a tank, and a vertically movable buoyant body therein, of a member having a feed-water inlet, a valve for closing said inlet adaptedto move toward and away therefrom, a spring having a pressure lower than that of the incoming feed-water pressing said valve toward said inlet, a lever adapted to swing toward and away from said valve, said body striking said lever when moving upwardly and releasing the lever when sinking, and means to limit the swinging of said lever when released by said body.

8. A feed-water regulator having the combination with a vertically movable buoyant body, of a valve having an inlet for ,feedwater, means for closing said inlet, resilient means bearing against said closing means with a pressure lower than that of the incoming feed-water, a lever adapted to swing toward and away from said closing means, said body adapted to move toward and away from said lever, and said body when rising operating said lever to therewith exert pressure against said closing means in addition to the pressure exerted by said resilient means.

9. A feed-water regulator having the combination with a vertically movable buoyant body, of a valve having an inlet for feedwater, means for closing said inlet, resilient means bearing against said closing means with a pressure lower than the incoming feed-water, an intermediate element movable toward and away from said closing means, said body adapted to move toward and away from said element, and said body when rising operating said element to therewith exert pressure against said closing means in addition to the pressure exerted by said resilient means.

10. A feed-water regulator having the combination with a vertically movable buoyant body, of a valve having an inlet for feed-water, means for closing said inlet, resilient means bearing against said closing means with a pressure lower than that of the incoming feed-water, said body being disconnected from said closing means and adapted to move toward and away from said closing means, and said body when rising causing exertion of pressure against said closing means in addition to the pressure exerted by said resilient means.

11. A feed-water regulator having the combination with a vertically movable buoyant body, of a valve having an inlet for feedwater, means for closing said inlet, a lever adapted to swing toward and away from said closing means, said body adapted to move toward and away from said lever, and said body when rising operating said lever to therewith exert; pressure against said closing means.

12. A feed-water regulator having the combination with a vertically movable buoyant body, of a valve having an inlet for feedwater, means for closing said inlet, an intermediate element movable toward and away from said closing means, said body adapted to move toward and away from said element, and said body when rising operating said element to therewith exert pressure against said closing means.

Signed at the city of New York, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 3rd day of November, A. D. 1919.

ADOLF SCI-IOLZ. 

